Israel Mourns Holocaust, as Local Survivors Despair

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Israel on Sunday opened its annual Holocaust Remembrance Day with the blast of nation-wide sirens and solemn memorial ceremonies. But, as Israel’s major newspapers pointed out, many of the 190,000 Holocaust survivors in the Jewish state today live a lonely and poverty-stricken existence, prolonging that greatest of human tragedies.

“Let us live our final days in dignity,” read a sub-headline in Israel’s main national newspaper, Yediot Ahronot.

According to official figures, the average age of Holocaust survivors living in Israel is 85. Some 13,000 die every year, and that number is accelerating as the average age gets higher, meaning it won’t be long before the Holocaust is no longer a living memory for anyone in the Jewish state.

More worrying than the loss of the survivors are the conditions that far too many of them endure. Over 50,000 live below the poverty line and a full 20 percent have to rely on charity for their sustenance. This in addition to the fact that many survivors lost their families to the Nazis, and so must walk this difficult path alone.

The care of these survivors is a constant topic of hot debate. Most Israeli government officials would agree there is far more that should be done. But with the national budget running at a deficit, it is unclear where the money would come from.

That’s where Israeli and Christian charities come in, though the number in need of help usually far outstrips the amount of aid coming in.

Israel Today has been doing its part by regularly visiting and providing assistance to Holocaust survivors living in Jerusalem. Below are some images of our staff on a recent visit to a home for Holocaust survivors.

We would like to invite you to partner with us in doing all we can fulfill the final wish of these precious souls - to allow them to live out their final days in some dignity.